Eva stirred awake to the reverberating noise of metal on metal. She blinked her dizziness away, though the darkness still lingered. Only a single torch was present, with a shadow of a woman blotting out the light and hitting the iron bars with what seemed to be a metal rod. It smelled of dampness and rust, and the ground was cold and rough.
“You are awake, sister.”
“Lena?” Eva murmured, grabbing her head, still feeling weak. “What are you doing here?”
“Why, you are permitted to be in this slaughterhouse but I am not?” Lena said, slapping the iron rod into her palm. “I simply cannot miss out on the fun, sister. After all, seeing you walk into your own doom is most entertaining.”
Eva stayed silent, her head running through scenarios. Not good. She couldn’t come up with a plan.
Lena laughed. “This is the first time I have seen you so helpless and weak! Where did the lofty lady from before go?”
“Why did you do this?” asked Eva, trying to stall for time. “Is this for what I did to you before the guildmasters? I apologize if I upset you, but you were—“
“How long do you plan to keep up this play, sister?” Her voice was low and emotionless. “I already know everything. From how you discovered this place, how you knew my identity, and how you joined that Nikitas character in trying to overthrow this place. Unfortunately for you, sister, I do not think the outcome is that favorable?”
“Why? Why did you do all this, then?” Eva asked, even though she already knew the answer. In her past life, her sister didn’t just make her life miserable, she even made sure to meet her in person to reveal everything and mock her. Eva had no doubt she would do the same in this life. “Haven’t I always treated you well?”
Lena scoffed, and even in the dark, Eva could see the disdain on her sister’s face. “I know what you are aiming for. You are trying to stall for time, aren’t you?” She hit the rod into her palm one more time. “I hate that you are always so collected.” She turned around and paced to the corner of the room where Eva could roughly make out the shape of a brazier. Lena lit the coal container on fire, and Eva finally realized that the iron in her hand was a branding rod. Lena laid the rod amidst the rising flame and turned back to her. “I would like to see how you handle this, sister. How you will react when the scorching iron makes its mark on you…” She giggled. “But me seeing you alone like this doesn’t do you justice, does it?” Lena walked away out of Eva’s sight. “I’ll bring you worthy audiences, sister.”
Eva listened to her sister’s footsteps getting farther and farther away. When she could hear her sister no longer, she got up and grabbed the iron bars one by one, pulling and pushing them in case one of them was loose. They were all firmly welded. Eva tried to squeeze her body out of the cell sideways, but only her arm was able to pass through. She gave up on the iron bars and looked back. She started banging the wall, but none of the spots were frail or hollow. Finally, Eva fell to the ground, panting. There was no way out.
The sound of footsteps approached the cell, and Lena appeared in front, with masked men following after her. Eva counted ten of them.
Lena walked over to the brazier and picked up the rod, looking at the heated iron, redness reflecting in her eyes. “I hope I didn’t make you wait for long, sister.” She glanced back with a sickening smile. “After all, I could barely contain myself right now.”
“You don’t scare me, Lena,” said Eva. “Try as you might, but I will only see an insecure child in front of me.”
Her sister’s smile didn’t fade. “Is that so?” she said, then she looked to her side, and another masked man walked into sight, but also with him was Sofia who was tied and gagged, struggling to break free.
Eva felt her hands clench. “Lena,” she said, her eyes freezing cold. “Do whatever you like to me, but I promise you: You will regret it if you even so much as lay a finger on her.”
Lena flinched for a second, then her face twisted into an emotion of pure anger. “How long are you going to keep playing tough!” she said, looking at a masked man. “Open the cell. It is time to teach this wench a lesson.”
After the cell door opened, three masked men entered and held Eva in place. One of them at each of her arms, and the last one holding her head up by yanking her hair back.
Lena sauntered over, holding the branding rod forward. “I am very curious about what sound you will make, sister,” she said, smiling. “And what expression you will have when you are presented to the court with a slave mark on your face, being condemned and laughed at by everyone until you see the gallows. I shiver just thinking about it.”
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Eva could feel the heat radiating from the iron, every moment getting hotter and hotter as the rod was getting close. She didn’t blink or shy away.
Lena’s face became one of pure evil, her eyes becoming slitted curves while the edges of her mouth lifted. “And this is all thanks to you. You walked yourself here, and I truly, truly thank you for that. I am sure these men will also thank you after they have had their ways with you, sister.”
Sofia’s muffled voice got louder, tears running down her face while trying to break free. Eva breathed out, readying herself for whatever fate awaited her when all of a sudden her left arm was freed. She didn’t have time to process what was happening, but the masked man on her left was already moving forward, grabbing the branding rod close to the handle and twisting it out of Lena’s hand. He jammed the scorching iron into Lena’s left eye, and her scream filled the dungeon.
“Attack!” the masked man yelled, and Eva recognized his voice in an instant. Minos used the branding rod to strike the two other masked men’s heads in a single second, his swings swift and merciless.
Three of the masked men outside the cell pulled out their swords and stabbed the closest men to them, with some able to dodge in time. The one that was holding Sofia pulled out a knife, brought it up high, and slashed her bondage. The maid removed her gag and ran into the cell without caring about the fight going on behind her. “My lady!” she yelled. “My lady, are you hurt?”
Minos pulled out his knife and finished off the two men inside the cell, then joined the others in fighting the rest. Lena was on the ground, rolling from side to side while holding her eye and screeching.
“What about you, Sofia? Are you hurt? Did they do anything to you?”
“I’m fine, my lady,” she sniffed. “Sir Nikitas and his men disguised themselves and pretended to have found me, so those other men didn’t get the chance to do anything.”
Eva allowed herself a second to let out a sigh of relief, then steeled herself and stood. “We need to get out. Others must have heard the commotion here.”
Sofia nodded, and they ran out of the cell, with Eva glancing at her sister for a brief second before looking back forward. Minos and his men had finished off the masked men, and everyone but Minos ran off to the entrance down the dungeon’s corridor.
“My lady, please stay close to me,” Minos said, holding his hand out.
Eva hesitated for a second before grabbing it, feeling the warmth transfer from his body into hers. “Thank you, Sir Nikitas.”
He smiled. “My pleasure.”
They hurried to the door where Minos’s four men were holding it shut. “My lord, we await your command!” one said.
“We will whittle their number after opening the door!” Minos commanded, Eva seeing glimpses of her husband in him. “Protect these ladies with your lives! Abandon me if you must, but make sure they are safe!”
His men looked hesitant, but all of them nodded anyway. “Yes, my lord.”
“Now go!”
They released the door, and it swung open, with masked men filing in while holding their swords. Minos and his men finished them off one by one as soon as they entered, attacking them from all sides except the rear. Shouts and screams were the only sounds present. Corpses started to pile up in front of the door, but before the path became clogged, the masked men stopped rushing in.
Still, Eva saw a crowd of masked men surrounding the entrance on the other side of the door, waiting for them to come out. “Sir Nikitas, what are we going to do?”
Minos smiled at her and patted her on the head, finally releasing her hand. “My lady doesn’t have to worry. I promise to get you out safe and sound.”
Eva didn’t like being treated like a child, but somehow, it didn’t feel as bad when Minos did it.
The marquis looked back to the front and commanded, “Their number is high, so we are going to hold until reinforcement arrives! Men, there is no need to fear, for we are warriors of honor!” He held his sword up high, the blade scraping the stone ceiling and sending sparks flying. “They have the advantage in numbers, but they are a bunch of ruffians! No matter how many there are, we will remain triumphant! ARE YOU WITH ME!”
His men cheered. Despite there being four of them, Eva still got shivers like in her past life. She noticed that these men were all Named People she used to be acquainted with, warriors with big achievements who received titles and were known throughout the marquisate.
The masked men finally pushed the mountain of corpses and squeezed their way into the dungeon while holding up wooden shields, yelling. Minos and the Named People stabbed through their defenses with pinpoint accuracy, halting their advances one man at a time. Some of the masked men tried to run away but were pushed back into the battle. Piles upon piles of corpses filled the entrance, but slowly, Minos and his men were pushed back from the sheer number. After a while, they could hold no longer, and the masked men made their way through the door, kicking corpses out of the way.
Two sides were now facing each other at a standstill. It didn’t last long as people behind the masked men shouted orders for them to fight, and chaos erupted. They rushed at Minos and his men all at once, squeezing into the narrow corridor while stumbling over the corpses of their peers. Despite now facing multiple of them, Minos and the Named People stopped their advance with their combined effort, assisting each other like they were of one mind.
As they fought, Eva noticed that a ruckus was brewing behind the masked men.
“Reinforcement has arrived!” Minos shouted. “Hold on!”
“Yes, my lord!”
The masked men started to panic. They fled from the rear and pushed each other toward Eva’s direction. Minos and the Named People suffered injuries upon injuries, trying to hold them back.
“Men!” Minos said. “We are almost there! Hold—“
Blood left Minos’s mouth, and he looked down to see a sword protruding out of his chest, his face growing paler by the second. Eva’s eyes widened, and tears fell as she saw the images of her husband’s death overlapping with the current Minos.
“I didn’t know you could shed tears, sister,” said Lena, smiling from ear to ear, her red left eye surrounded by a fresh burn mark. “How I wish you could see yourself right now...”